Marqise Lee isn’t just one of the best wide receivers available in the upcoming draft. If the NFL handed out an award for most obstacles overcome to get to Radio City Music Hall next month, the USC product would be the runaway favorite.

Not only was one of Lee’s older brothers killed in a gang-related incident in his native Inglewood, Calif., but the other currently is in prison for a gang-related murder attempt.

Lee’s father also was not involved in his life, a factor in Lee eventually being shuffled off to foster homes along with his sister when their mother and grandmother no longer could care for them. And both of his birth parents — with whom he has renewed contact — are deaf.

Despite all those hardships, or perhaps because of them, Lee went on to three seasons of stardom at Southern Cal that very well could wind up with the 6-foot, 190-pound prospect being the second receiver selected overall in the May 8-10 NFL Draft.

Clemson’s explosive Sammy Watkins is considered by far the best available receiver in a banner year for the position, but Lee and Mike Evans of Texas A&M are also first-round material and thought to be in the sights of the Jets and possibly the Giants.

Just don’t expect Lee to talk too much about the bleak and grueling path he traveled to reach this point.

“He smiles so much, you never know what is wrong with him,” younger sister Stacy Lee told the Los Angeles Times in 2012. “I guess he doesn’t want to show anybody his pain.”

Lee’s college career wasn’t exactly easy, either, as USC endured debilitating NCAA sanctions and went through two head coaches last season when Lane Kiffin was fired.

But Lee persevered, as he always had before, and made the most of his opportunity by winning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and the Biletnikoff Award as the country’s top receiver in 2012.

Lee struggled last season with the coaching change and a minor knee injury, but NFL scouts haven’t forgotten what he did two years ago. The also loved what they saw from him at the scouting combine in February, where Lee’s 127-inch broad jump was the third-longest by a receiver.

And what team executive wouldn’t like what Lee told reporters at the combine when asked what his main goal in the NFL would be?

“My main focus, is going to the NFL and doing whatever I’m supposed to do, at the end of the day, to make my coach proud,” Lee said.

Lee is a little too skinny for scouts’ liking at this point, and doubts persist about his speed (he ran an unimpressive 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the combine). But he is a producer, recording 248 catches for 3,655 yards and 29 touchdowns in just three college seasons.

“The main thing is, I’m going to compete, 24/7, no matter what vet is there, who is coming in, what free agent they got,” Lee said at the combine. “I’m always going to compete and bring a positive mindset to the game. No negativity, not going to question anything, just going to get the job done.”

Though Lee and his fellow prospects have scouts calling this one of the deepest receiving crops in years, there isn’t nearly as much excitement about the tight ends available.

The top prospects are almost uniformly huge (Notre Dame’s Troy Niklas is all but typical at 6-foot-7, 270 pounds), but scouts have questions about all of them — including No. 1 candidate Eric Ebron of North Carolina — and don’t see a true star emerging from the current group.

Rating the prospects

Post NFL writer Bart Hubbuch ranks the top wide receivers and tight ends in the May 8-10 draft:

3. Troy Niklas*=Notre Dame=6-7=270
Converted defensive end who excels as a blocker.

4. C.J. Fiedorowicz=Iowa=6-7=265
Lack of explosiveness is made up for with sure hands.

5. Austin Seferian-Jenkins*=Washington=6-6=275
Won the Mackey Award as the country’s top tight end.

Late riser
Niklas: He’s no Tyler Eifert, but a solid combine and offseason have answered questions about his speed and hands.

Dropping fast
Seferian-Jenkins: A DUI last year and foot surgery that forced him to miss the combine and pro day aren’t helping his case.

Small-school wonder
Reggie Jordan, Missouri Western: A whopping 33 percent of his catches in college (17 out of 52) went for touchdowns.

*underclassman

What Giants might do

There is little doubt the Giants want to add a receiver and a tight end in the NFL Draft. At receiver, they gave up on Hakeem Nicks after two subpar seasons. They still have Victor Cruz, but behind him Rueben Randle and Jerrel Jernigan are young and fairly unproven, despite Randle’s team-high six TDs in 2013. They would have to be enticed at No. 12 by towering Mike Evans (Texas A&M). The Cruz-like Marqise Lee (USC) or huge, Plaxico Burress clone Kelvin Benjamin (Florida State) in the second round would make sense.

At tight end, the signing of Kellen Davis gives the Giants a big, experienced blocker, but the options behind him — Adrien Robinson, Larry Donnell and newly acquired veteran Daniel Fells — are not ideal. Making a first-round splash with Eric Ebron of North Carolina would be a departure for GM Jerry Reese, but going for Jace Amaro (Texas Tech) or the imposing Troy Niklas (Notre Dame) on the second day of the draft could work.

— Paul Schwartz

What Jets might do

The Jets need help at these positions desperately. Even after adding Eric Decker as a free agent, the Jets need to draft a wide receiver. Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans figure to be off the board when the Jets pick at 18, but keep an eye on Marqise Lee, Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandin Cooks as possible targets. If they don’t draft a wide receiver in the first round, they certainly will in the second.

Tight end is just as thin as receiver. They have Jeff Cumberland and a question marks. Eric Ebron would give them a dynamic player at the position, but he could be gone by the time the Jets draft. If he is, they could take Jace Amaro or Troy Niklas in the second or third rounds.